APUG "Community Equipment & Supplies"

OK then, the flag is running up the flagpole. I was wondering if it was practical or even possible for us as a community to create a pool of equipment that can be donated to our less financially well off members who cannot otherwise acquire equipment to further their photographic efforts.

Witness the fantastic response to my request for equipment to create a darkroom for a foster home in Washington state. Think about how many other youngsters around the world that we all may know. How many of them are potential photographer/printers without the equipment? Our brothers and sisters in the former Soviet Union ( for example ) are a creative bunch. How many can afford what we in the west have?

J&C and Ilford both have a presence on our site. Is it possible that they might be able to find surplus or slow moving product which might be donated to the cause? Are there other manufacturers we can contact for donations?

I'm not sure how such an effort would be organized. Who would store the equipment and ship it? Who would verify the need for the equipment? Who would be responsible for collecting it in one location? Would it be better off in an electronic warehouse? In other words, members could offer up the equipment to the pool but hang on to it until the need presents itself?

I think it's an interesting idea, and sometimes it works, as in the case you've described or Jim Galli's Deep Springs College workshop, and sometimes it's a little slow going, as in the case of rexp's loaner MF camera, which was plagued by shipping issues and lukewarm response at first, though I think it's working now.

Maybe it's best doing it case-by-case as it's happened, so when someone has a worthy project, APUGgers will step up to the plate to fill the need.

Salute! I have a couple of pieces of equipment that I'd rather see in the hands of artists without the means, than a marginal profit I'd get from selling. If the concept can't be organized on a large scale as envisioned, I think many of us can take the intiative to do so in our own communities. It doesn't have to end with donating equipment either...you can donate your time interacting/teaching/promoting
/mentoring children & adults interested in the photographic arts.